The Chicago White Sox had a roster purge of sorts at the trade deadline with their pitching staff letting go of a couple of starters as well as some relievers.
This was in an effort to possibly rebuild and retool the team. One player who was traded away and wasn’t much of a surprise was Lucas Giolito.
The White Sox appeared to be poised to let Giolito go from the first pitch of the 2023 season. It didn’t look as if he was going to be a White Sox pitcher for the entire season and his being traded away doesn’t seem to have surprised that many people.
However, the White Sox could have still utilized his services had they been in the running for the playoffs, which they weren’t (and aren’t). But likely, it was time to let Giolito go.
How has Lucas Giolito played for the Los Angeles Angels so far?
So how has he been doing since he’s been with the Los Angeles Angels? Did the White Sox make a mistake giving him up and sending him to LA or did the trade make sense?
Giolito has not had a stellar group of outings since joining the Angels a few weeks ago. He has started five games and has really struggled.
His record is 1-4.
He has managed to pitch six innings three times and 5.1 innings once in his five starts (to go along with the Atlanta debacle). He played well in the game that he won but allowed six hits, seven hits, and five hits in the three other losses.
Giolito was up and down when he was with the White Sox so what he is experiencing with the Angeles is nothing new for him.
He has struggled a lot in certain situations but oddly would still be one of the better pitchers on the White Sox roster if they had kept him. In LA, he’s been terrible.
In the long run, the White Sox might be glad that they got rid of Giolito. Granted, the return may be greater than the loss but overall, the White Sox were pretty much at their end with him as it was anyway.
They basically shipped their problem to the Los Angeles Angels and got a little something in return for their troubles.
The White Sox are in rebuilding mode so they don’t really miss guys like Giolito and Lance Lynn. They value what they got for them much more than they value those two guys.
Let’s hope that the pieces that the White Sox got in return turn out to be something special and help propel this team back into contention and get them back to their winning ways.
Giolito will go the way that other former Chicago pitchers have gone. They have, for the most part, gone into an abyss (see Dallas Keuchel and Carlos Rodon) and have struggled.
Rodon was headed towards a solid career before injuries derailed him in New York. Unless something spectacular happens to Giolito and he has a second coming in his career, he’s bound to wind up on the scrap heap of former White Sox pitchers that we will soon forget.